


pepero a day

by vivalagay



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, High School, Love/Hate, M/M, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 17:08:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16580600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivalagay/pseuds/vivalagay
Summary: A pepero box and note waits for Jooheon every day he clocks in at the flower shop.





	pepero a day

**Author's Note:**

> fulfilling my flower shop square!
> 
> ｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
> 
> [tumblr](https://nottechae.tumblr.com/) ❖ [twitter](https://twitter.com/gaybyjoobs) → [**high voltage when we kiss printed ver (us, ca & eu)**](https://vivalagay.wufoo.com/forms/purchase-high-voltage-when-we-kiss/) ←

It’s only wishful thinking when Jooheon scrambles out of school with his head ducked, like somehow he can maneuver off campus stealthily enough to avoid his sunbae. 

Jooheon can have a lot of optimism. Maybe this will be the day Minhyuk decides to actually walk home with his friends― _another wishful thought_. Maybe this will be the day Minhyuk realizes there's nothing to gain from bothering Jooheon and finds someone easier to bother― _the nth wishful thought_.

"Lee Jooheon!" 

Jooheon cringes. He's barely made it past the gate when footsteps are already pattering after him on the concrete. It's past eleven o'clock and somehow Minhyuk is still like an excited dog right on his heels. He's actually a lot like a puppy, Jooheon thinks; a puppy who looks at you with warm and heartfelt eyes, and then chews holes in all your shoes.

 _"Lee Jooheon!"_  Minhyuk shouts again. Jooheon naturally quickens his footsteps. It's like a flight-or-fight response, yet speeding down the sidewalk is only wishful thinking again, like speed-walking could actually happen to keep Minhyuk away from him. Of course his sunbae only has to break into a sprint to get beside him, because he's Minhyuk. And because he doesn't give up when it comes to bothering Jooheon, apparently. "I was calling your name. You didn't hear me?"

"I guess not," Jooheon murmurs. There's supposed to be some form of credibility in his voice when it leaves his lips, but his words come out in an exasperated grumble that somehow perfectly embodies how irritated he already feels. 

Minhyuk only flashes an innocent smile. "I won't take it to heart. I know you anticipate me walking you home every day."

"Not really."

"Oh, uh-huh."

Jooheon scowls. "Do you have to follow me? We don't even live in the same neighborhood."

"You don't know that," Minhyuk nonchalantly replies. He buries his hands in the pockets of his coat. "I could have a sister in your neighborhood."

"You told me you don't have a sister."

"I did?" Minhyuk pauses, and then quickly decides," Well, I could be staying with my cousin in your neighborhood. Or an uncle. Or an aunt. Don't be so full of yourself, Lee Jooheon."

" _I'm_  full of myself?"

"There are other reasons for me to walk you to your neighborhood," he quickly explains, lips curling a little more. "I just want to visit my aunt and you're making it all about you. For all I know,  _you're_  following  _me_."

Silently, Jooheon pulls his phone from his pocket. His mother has told him if he doesn't have anything nice to say then he shouldn't say it all. Scrolling through his notifications is usually the easiest way to tune Minhyuk out.

There's always a full thread left for him when he turns his phone back on. It's ever only one thread, because the only text messages he usually gets is from the flower shop group chat. Their managers made a group chat so it would be easier to communicate with him and the other two employees in one place. But it only took Jooheon sharing a reaction photo he snapped of Hyunwoo pretending not to be sleeping behind the counter for its purpose to blur. Now everyone just uses it solely to share memes.

"I won't sweat it," Minhyuk obliviously continues with this dumb smile on his face, like it isn't obvious how blatantly Jooheon is ignoring him, "but I'll only let it slide because you're cute."

"I'm not cute," Jooheon pouts.

Minhyuk gives this soft laugh Jooheon receives with a disapproving glare. "It's so cute how you think you're not cute. I've always thought you're really adorable."

If he said this to anyone else maybe their heart would flutter. Maybe they would look into Minhyuk's full eyes and the cool air of autumn would suddenly wisp away with how warm Minhyuk's gaze is. But not Jooheon, of course. He couldn't careless about Minhyuk's eyes, or how infectious his smile is when he widens his lips with all teeth.

"You're super cute," Minhyuk tells him again. "For an 11th grader, at least."

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

Minhyuk only presses his lips together, smiling, and Jooheon finally decides to look at him. Ironically, there's nothing more unsettling than Minhyuk being quiet, but of course that only gives him what he wants. As soon as Jooheon rips his eyes from the screen of his phone, Minhyuk snatches it from his hand and takes off into the night, hair wildly flying with his backpack flapping behind him.

 _"Sunbae!"_  Jooheon groans. It's too cold to chase after him, let alone the fact he's been at school all day and he's exhausted. Can't he just be given  _one_  good day? Just  _one_  good day of making his way home and not having to worry about this jerk? "I'm not playing with you. Give me my phone back."

Minhyuk halts, whips around. "Come and get it."

"I don't want to play!"

"Fine," he huffs. His arm stretches out, revealing the poor stolen phone in his palm. "Here."

Each of Jooheon's footsteps drags across the concrete, eyes narrowed at the way Minhyuk watches him catch up with so much patience, smile still curled at his lips.

"Is it fun being mean to me?" Jooheon asks.

Minhyuk laughs― _cackles_  would even be more fitting―like the sadist he is. "Kind of," he says.

And then he takes off towards the bus stop, sending Jooheon finally chasing after him with a string of swear words he only bothers saying in his head.

What a waste of a cute face.

There's no way Minhyuk could make his heart flutter. Who cares about his warm eyes and his sweet smile? They're both dumb anyway.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

"I didn't even get my phone back until the bus came. I was practically in his lap half of the ride trying to wrestle him for it." Jooheon drops a clipboard on the front desk, leaning over it with a hand cupped under his chin. "I don't get it. Out of all the people in our school he picks on me."

Hoseok smiles. "That's cute."

"Cute?" Jooheon practically gags at the word. "It's called bullying, hyung."

"Do you really think he's bullying you?"

"He teases me every day." Jooheon sits up and hands Hoseok a pen from the plastic cup on the desk. "Sounds like bullying to me."

Hoseok lets out a small laugh, flipping through their forms of orders in the last two months. He absently taps the pen on the desk as he skims, then pops the cap off, scribbling something down in the margin. "These are all the orders from this week?"

"Yup."

"Did you ever get back to Jiyoung about the wedding?"

"Yeah, and then Hyunwoo got everything straightened out yesterday afternoon."

"And you swept the floor?"

"Twice."

Hoseok looks up at him with a fond smile, popping the cap back on his pen. "Jooheon-ah," he happily sighs, "I love you so much. Get a piece of candy, baby."

Smiling, Jooheon opens the jar and grabs a handful of grape candies. There was a time this jar was filled with seed packet samples―the true purpose of the jar's existence, even though Jooheon is pretty sure the girl who works first shift on the week days was the one taking ninety-five percent of them―but Hoseok proposed filling it with candy was a cute idea for the month of Halloween. Now Jooheon could flash his manager even the slightest smile and it earns him a few fruit and milk chews, which he's definitely not complaining about. Jooheon's sure most of the jar has been given to him from just blinking, and the other half from Hyunwoo, his other manager, absently shoving his hand in for My Chews while he jots down notes at the front desk.

"We're so lucky to have you," Hoseok beams, clasping his hands together. "Can't you just drop out of school and take the week day shifts too?"

Jooheon laughs, popping a chungpodo in his mouth. "I'll let my mom know you said that."

He only replies with a breathy sigh crossing his lips.

"If I could be in this shop all the time then I would," Jooheon tells him. "I love being here. Well, besides the fact I'm just sweeping the floor and washing windows all the time."

"When you learn more about floristry, then I'll give you real tasks," Hoseok promises.

Jooheon's lips slide into a small smile. Even if he's not sure he'll ever care enough about floristry, at least not as much as Hoseok does, he knows his hyung does keep his promises. "Okay, deal."

The shop is a bit stuffy and small, but Jooheon considers it one of his safe spaces. It sucks not being able to sleep in on the weekends, but this is what he looks forward to every day; these two days of the week he can be with his hyungs who give him candy and make him tea that doesn't taste like heated pee. Sure, majority of his shift is legitimately sweeping the floor and washing windows, but it's better than nothing. 

Jooheon wishes he could actually be here all the time. It'd be heaven. Being surrounded by the smell of flowers for the whole week is already a comforting thought, but he'd actually be able to avoid his sunbae routinely following behind him like a lost child.

"Hyung," Jooheon says, sending Hoseok attentively sitting up again, "do you have any ideas on how to get someone to stop teasing you?"

He contemplates it with a quiet hum, brushing a hand at his fringe. "Put your foot down. Tell him to leave you alone."

"That doesn't work."

"Have you tried?"

"Well," Jooheon stupidly pauses, swiping his tongue over his lips, "no, but I make it obvious I want him to leave me alone. I'm really bad with confrontation anyway. If I tried to put my foot down he'd probably just find it cute." 

"You are pretty cute, though." Jooheon rolls his eyes, but he can't help the flattered smile that curls on his lips. "I wish I was still in high school. If it weren't for Teacher Park then it would have been one of the best times of my life. That guy just wouldn't let me catch a break, though. Once I had to hold my arms up for almost ten minutes because he accused me of smoking in the washroom, and then he called me a liar when I said I wasn't."

"Really? And you weren't even smoking?"

"No, I was. But he's just going to accuse me like that with no evidence? That's so disrespectful."

"Switch places with me," Jooheon instantly offers, and it nearly leaves his lips like it isn't a joke. He wishes it didn't have to be. Jooheon would easily take Hoseok's place making wreaths and hanging up Christmas lights in a second. "You might even match well with Minhyuk. You're both overly-clingy."

Hoseok playfully furrows his brows. "I'm not overly-clingy."

The door pushes open to Hyunwoo embracing two cardboard boxes. He's so casual with it, like the weight is nothing. Jooheon's sure they're just filled with the lightweight Christmas decorations they've dug up from last year, yet it still happens to make him look cool.

"Hyunwoo hyung," Hoseok calls immediately, "do you think I'm overly-clingy?"

Hyunwoo places the boxes on the floor and walks out.

"Wow," Hoseok pouts, crossing his arms over his chest, "I can't believe I brought you meanies peperos."

"You brought me peperos?"

"It's Pepero Day, isn't it? Didn't you buy me peperos?"

"Uh... um,"  Jooheon stalls. Hoseok laughs and softly punches a fist into his arm.

"That reminds me," Hoseok says with some painfully wide grin suddenly on his face. "Someone left a surprise for Joohoney."

"Joohoney?" Jooheon slowly repeats. No one has ever called him that. Somehow even Hoseok who has a cutesy pet name for every employee hasn't managed to come up with something like it. "Are you sure it's not just a gift from my mom?"

"Unless your mom has a super big crush on you, then I'm sure." Hoseok disappears behind the counter and pops back up with a bouquet. There's only one pink rose inside, nestled between six red boxes of pepero.

Jooheon blinks when Hoseok thrusts it into his arms, holding it with his elbows up like he's embracing a newborn baby. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow," Hoseok grins. He's practically squeaking by now. "Are you going to read the note?"

The handwriting is careful and precise on the front of a card like it's calligraphy. The note is a white square of paper turned landscape, written prettily in English cursive,  _'To the cutest florist Joohoney'_  with a blue marker pen. 

"See? They called you Joohoney," Hoseok coos again. "That's so cute. How come I never thought of that?"

"Shut up," Jooheon mutters, but he can't help the smile playing at his lips, tugging too tightly at his cheeks when he flips the note over to the person's letter. Their penmanship is more sloppy and natural in Hangul with doodles of pink and red hearts and pepero sticks around it. 

The anonymous writer does in fact have a super big crush on him, which he writes quite openly,  _I've always had a crush on you_ , and even with how frank it is the words still manage to warm the tips of Jooheon's ears.

 _I hope I can bring a smile to your face like you always bring a smile to mine,_  the letter continues.  _Please eat these peperos well~_

A quick doodle of Jooheon with peperos is etched beside it.  _From, Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved_  is written underneath his chin.

"Do you recognize the handwriting?"

Jooheon squints at it, studying each stroke like there's some answer hidden within the ink. "No," he finally says, "not even a little."

"Joohoney has a secret admirer," Hoseok sings.

"Yeah, right, it's probably just some dumbass in one of my classes." Jooheon carelessly rests the bouquet on the counter and slips the note back inside. There's no reason to get excited about it, because it seems like something one of his stupid classmates would do. He's seen someone in his class date a girl for a week as a joke. There's no reason why Jooheon suddenly wouldn't be a victim of his school's weird sense of humor. 

Hoseok frowns and plucks the note from the bouquet, smiling at it like it's a letter personally written to him. "But what if it isn't?"

"It probably is."

"Don't underestimate it," Hoseok says. He sets the note on the counter and props up an elbow. "There's someone out there who possibly likes you enough to get you a farm-fresh rose. That says something, at least."

Jooheon only shrugs.

He's never understood flowers as a gift. Sooner or later they'll just die and that fact alone makes it feel like a bad omen.

But the rose admittedly looks nice on his nightstand. When he walks home from the flower shop he finds a vase, pours a little water inside, and steals a few glances of it as he slips into bed and munches on his peperos. So, what, it'll die. It's still pretty anyway.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

Pepero Day is long gone when Jooheon pushes the door open to the flower shop at eight in the morning. Still, another letter from Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved is there for him on the counter. There's no bouquet or pink roses―thank God, because Jooheon killed his rose in just two days―only two almond pepero boxes with a note taped to one.

 _To the cutest florist Joohoney,_  it reads,  _Work hard today! Here are more sweets for the sweetest boy I know ^^_

It's so stupid. The peperos, the letter, the rose, it could easily be a joke. And even if it's not, isn't leaving anonymous love letters and gifts at his job a bit creepy? Some unknown writer―a complete  _stranger,_  for all he knows―just starts leaving him notes out of nowhere?

Jooheon stares at it, eyes scanning over each letter and the 'Joohoney' written in English. This stupid pet name he's never even heard of before.

He tears off the note and throws it and the peperos in the empty trash behind the counter.

(And he tells himself it's only because he wouldn't want to waste food when he digs his hand back in and retrieves it, taping the note on the green box again.)

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

"Let's get snacks," Minhyuk tells him when he actually finds a way to catch up to Jooheon after school. He's already out of breath, pushing a hand at his hair that's scattered from running.

Jooheon briefly pays him a glance. "Why would we get snacks?"

"I want to take you somewhere," is as far as he explains it, "and I'm guessing you're hungry."

"Mildly," Jooheon replies. He stares at him, and then tears his eyes away, chin lifting. "Not like I want to go anywhere with you, though."

"There's something better to do?"

"Other than being with you?" A small laugh leaves his lips. "I could name a thousand."

"Just come with me."

"Why would I trust following you somewhere at night? You could just lead me to an alley with four guys to beat me with a baseball bat."

Minhyuk chuckles. "You think I have the energy to organize that?"

Well, he does have a bit of a point. Jooheon contemplates it with narrowed eyes.

"Fine," Minhyuk shrugs. He quickens his footsteps. "I was even going to buy you dumplings, but I guess I'll just eat them alone."

It's the damned dumplings that get him, and the only thing that does.

Jooheon finds himself picking dumplings and a bottle of juice for Minhyuk to buy before they're off scurrying into the dark, exhaling small puffs of fog from the cold with their store bags dangling from their hands. Jooheon is about too many steps behind, waddling from the cool night air and his coat buttoned a little too tightly.

He feels a little idiotic giving in so easily from the promise of dumplings. Sure there aren't exactly a thousand other things he could be doing at nearly midnight, but being swaddled in the warm blankets of his bed and listening to the gentle hum of his space heater is about the only one other thing he wants to be doing right now.

There's a wired fence that stops their walk, but Minhyuk just pushes at it until he can see the small entrance underneath. "Crawl through here."

Jooheon pauses. "What?"

"We have to go through here for me to show you."

"Oh no, there's no way I'm going under there."

"I can make a wider entrance," Minhyuk offers, like that's even the problem. Before Jooheon can utter a reply he's already pushing the broken fence even more, creating this large gap between the ground and the torn wire. It looks like he's done this over and over again, or maybe there's just some sort of strength in his noodle arms he's been concealing this whole time. 

"Where are you taking me?" Jooheon finally asks. He squints at him, but the look on his face fails to tell much.

"It's a surprise." 

Minhyuk hurls his backpack over the fence, and then drops on his knees to crawl to the other side. 

"Is this legal?" Jooheon sputters.

"Um..." Minhyuk tugs his backpack over his shoulders again and zips his padded coat until it engulfs his chin. "I mean, I guess it's legal. Unless someone sees us."

Jooheon just looks at him.

"Come on," Minhyuk sings. "Just trust your hyung, okay?"

"You're not my hyung." But still Jooheon eyes the ground, and then finds himself dropping to his knees. There was something about the way Minhyuk slipped under that made it look easy, whereas Jooheon army crawls like a baby, the fence scratching at his coat until he's made it on the other side. 

"That's cute," Minhyuk smiles, extending two arms for Jooheon to hold.

Glaring, Jooheon takes hold of his hands, letting Minhyuk haul him up until he's on his feet. "If I get in trouble I'm coming after you."

"We're not going to get in trouble, goody two-shoes."

Jooheon rips his hands away. "Don't call me that."

"Goody two-shoes," Minhyuk says again. He jumps back when Jooheon reaches out to shove him before turning around and taking off, teasingly waving the bag of dumplings at him.

Who does he think Jooheon is? Some dog who's going to come obediently scurrying after him because he has treats?

Jooheon scoffs. What an asshole.

He watches the dumplings swinging in his hand as Minhyuk runs off, and then, with a roll of his eyes, chases after him.

There's nothing legal about this. Or merely special.

The surprise is a roof that overlooks the city, like there's supposed to be anything amazing about that. Seoul is always illuminated. It doesn't matter if somehow the city feels calm up here, or if it's a little nice looking at it further up. Somehow it looks different, or  _feels_  different, like the two of them are detached and in another realm, watching from afar how slow and quiet their dong really is. But that doesn't make it special either.

Jooheon plops down where Minhyuk sits, pulling his legs to his chest because there's no way he's going to be dumb enough to dangle them over the edge like Minhyuk does.

His sunbae sets the container of dumplings and bottles in between them, and it feels like they're in the middle of a picnic. A picnic past midnight in November ― but a picnic nonetheless. Jooheon watches the building across from them as he twists the cap off his drink.

"Why did you take me here?" he asks. The one question that's been on his mind since Minhyuk told him they're getting snacks.

"Because it's weird trespassing alone." Minhyuk smiles and hands over a pair of chopsticks that Jooheon slowly pulls apart, still eyeing him suspiciously.

"You have friends, sunbae. Like, in your own grade."

"Stop calling me sunbae," Minhyuk whines. "I'm hyung, or your friend, or just Minhyuk ― something besides sunbae."

"Sunbae ―"

Minhyuk lets out a groan, and Jooheon hides the way a smile cocks on his lips behind the sleeve of his coat.

The dumplings are lukewarm now, like Jooheon told him they would be if they didn't eat it at the convenience store as soon as Minhyuk popped it from the microwave. Nevertheless, it's dumplings, and Jooheon will take dumplings any way they can be offered to him.

"Anyway," Minhyuk says, avoiding his eyes, " _hyung_  doesn't really have a lot of friends."

"That's hard to believe."

"Because I have 2,000 Instagram followers?" Jooheon only rolls his eyes, quietly scoffing into a bottle of strawberry-flavored juice. "Turns out followers is just a number. No one talks to me outside of school. Not even during break."

Jooheon tells himself he doesn't care, because he doesn't. He wouldn't want to hang out with Minhyuk during break either. But, either way―probably because he's a human with a heart, and _only_ because of that―he finds himself feeling sorry for him.

There aren't a lot of people Jooheon would say are his friends in class, or at school at all. He sees his classmates' faces so many times he doesn't really care for even thinking of them during breaks. But he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without at least his little family at the shop. His hyungs are the only two people in his life who he would probably say are his true friends, and they mean the world to him. Life would be a big cloud of nothingness if he couldn't laugh at the memes in their group chat every day, or bother Hoseok enough until he pretends he's annoyed with him.

"I know, it's crazy," Minhyuk tsks. He shoves a dumpling in his mouth, yet continues babbling despite the mouthful. "Who wouldn't want to hang out with me? It's a shame. Even I ask myself the same question."

Every bit of sympathy dissipates. Jooheon slowly blinks at him, and then quietly takes another swig from his bottle. There's nothing good he can think of to say.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

"More peperos," Hyunwoo announces.

It's Saturday morning. Jooheon yawns, rubbing a fist at his eyes, before taking the four boxes of peperos that Hyunwoo hands him. They're all red boxes―original has always been his favorite; somehow the secret admirer seems to know that―with a yellow sticky note attached.

They tell Jooheon about the sound of his laugh, how the way he squints his eyes and his dimples show could make anyone smile. Somehow how cringey all of this is with every word, Jooheon kind of likes it. Besides the fact Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved could just easily be a dick who knows Jooheon feeds off compliments and endless praise like it withholds all his daily nutrients, he likes the thought of someone out there possibly having a crush on him.

Someone―a  _real_  person―could actually like him.

"You're getting popular," Hyunwoo jokes, nodding at the way a blush burns at Jooheon's cheeks.

It's so embarrassing, but Jooheon doesn't even try to hide the small smile at his lips when he pockets the sticky note. "It could just be nothing," he shrugs.

"You don't know that," Hyunwoo says. Jooheon sucks in a long breath, yet the foolish smile won't wipe off his face. "The person will probably reveal themselves soon. Probably when they run out of money from all these peperos."

Jooheon exhales a small laugh. Peperos aren't even that expensive, but Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved has been pretty consistent with the gifts. He wonders how much money has already been spent on him since the first day there was a gift waiting for him, and it's so dumb, but he can feel his heart flutter at the mere thought of someone caring about him that much. "You think someone could really like me, hyung?"

"Maybe. Not if you don't share."

Rolling his eyes, Jooheon gives Hyunwoo two boxes that he instantly opens to eat. Sometimes Jooheon wonders if Hoseok is even feeding his hyung at this rate.

"Of course someone could like you," Hyunwoo tells him, only now that he has two peperos to munch on.

Jooheon tersely shakes his head and grabs the broom by the door to get to work. But, still, the thought lingers on his mind.

Could someone actually like him? It seems unimaginable, almost. Yet he thinks of the peperos and the notes, the words Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved leaves him, and it feels like a tinge of hope.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

They go to the roof after school, because Minhyuk promises more dumplings and dumplings never deserve to be turned down.

Minhyuk buys him honey chips and bottles of water with it, and then they army crawl under the fence again with their puffy coats and take off to sit atop a run-down building to eat their snacks.

"Want to hear a ghost story?" Minhyuk asks.

Jooheon involuntarily cringes before Minhyuk even gets the word out. "You know I don't like ghosts."

"Do I?" he asks, a small smile licking over his lips. He's insufferable, really, and Jooheon doesn't get it. He just drags him out to a roof and teases him, like that's normal, batting his eyelashes here and there and looking at him with these full eyes he probably thinks are pretty. And they're kind of pretty. Kind of. Well, Minhyuk is pretty, but Jooheon doesn't like that. He doesn't like pretty boys at all. Especially pretty boys like Minhyuk.

"Yes," Jooheon says, firmly, "I tell you I hate ghosts every time you try to tell me ghost stories."

"Fine, I won't tell you the story behind this building, then," Minhyuk promises. He steals a sip from Jooheon's water bottle, and then sets it between their legs again. "So thank me later when you won't have nightmares tonight about the workers who died here, or how you can hear them at night. If they don't get you first."

 _"Sunbae!"_  Jooheon whines.

Minhyuk lets out a laugh, and then smugly takes another swig of water. "What? I said I wouldn't tell you. And it's  _hyung."_

"What is wrong with you?" he groans, shoving at his arm. "What did I ever do for you to be such a jerk?"

"You're too cute, Lee Jooheon." Minhyuk chuckles at the daggers Jooheon shoots at him, arms crossed over his chest with a childish pout. "Don't worry. I made all that up. I don't know the story behind this building."

Jooheon narrows his eyes at him, and then relaxes, reaching over to pluck another dumpling from behind the container.

"Wait," Minhyuk's smile drops, "what's behind you?"

Jooheon whips his head around, every nerve in his body springing to life like a field of light bulbs. He's already prepared to kick some ass, or run, whichever comes first―probably the latter―but there's nothing behind him.

Minhyuk doubles over with laughter. He curls into Jooheon's shoulder, clapping a hand over his mouth so it doesn't ring so loudly in the dark.

"You know what," Jooheon says, jumping to his feet, "I'm leaving."

Minhyuk quickly grips him by the wrist. "No, I'm sorry!"

"Yeah, right," he huffs. "You're probably just going to tell me about how the workers slaughter anyone nearby when night falls."

"Well, that is the next part of the story," Minhyuk desperately grips Jooheon by the wrist again when he yanks it away to storm off, "but I won't scare you anymore. I promise."

An amused smile is still tugged on his lips, but the apologetic eyes he looks up at him with are something that could  _possibly_  resemble sincerity. Jooheon hates it.

"Whatever," he mutters. "But I'm only staying for three more minutes for these dumplings."

Minhyuk just gives him a small smile when he plops down again. Maybe it's because he's thinking of how "cute" Jooheon is when he's being an ass to him. Maybe it's because when three minutes have already passed and the dumplings are gone, their water bottles empty, Jooheon still lies on the roof listening to wind whistling through the trees and the rhythm of Minhyuk's husky voice.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

Jooheon doesn't have a favorite flower, which is somehow weird because he works at a flower shop. At least, for some reason, that's weird to Minhyuk.

Flowers are just flowers to Jooheon, and he doesn't have a green thumb whatsoever. Leave it to Hoseok who is like the nature whisperer, who knows how to deal with these things and probably should have been the one to nurse Jooheon's rose. Jooheon thinks he could kill anything that's even slightly green from one look. 

"Do you even have a favorite flower?" Jooheon decides to ask Minhyuk.

"Duh," he scoffs, like this is just something people should contemplate as well as knowing their favorite color, "it's a sunflower."

Jooheon snorts. "How basic."

"Sunflowers aren't basic. They're pretty," he argues, pout pushing at his lips. "And besides, _I'm_ a sunflower."

"I definitely saw that one coming. You're so full of self-love it's unbearable."

Minhyuk only grins at his words, flattered like he was just paid a compliment.

"All flowers are pretty, I think," Jooheon softly admits. "That's probably why I don't have a favorite flower; they're all different and pretty in their own way."

Minhyuk nods. "Flowers are a lot like people."

"Hoseok hyung tells me that sometimes." Jooheon smiles, and then quickly licks it away, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He feels sort of strange talking about his hyung as if he's close to Minhyuk or can even stand him at all. They're supposed to squabble. He isn't supposed to talk about himself with his sunbae, only jab insults and scowls here and there where he must while Minhyuk talks and talks with this dumb smile and this dumb fringe that brushes over his eyes. "Actually, Hoseok hyung thinks everyone is pretty, like flowers."

"You're pretty."

"What?"

There's a second Minhyuk doesn't say anything, then a smile breaks on his face like he's just been rebooted, a loud laugh slipping his lips. "What? I was talking to myself."

"Okay...?"

Another silence falls over them. Minhyuk lets out a yawn, and then Jooheon stretches with his own before resting on his back. Up here, it's nice looking at the night sky. It's kind of scary too, subtly knowing that the ground is so far below him yet the sky is still so far up above. But it's soothing looking at it either way. If he stares long enough it's like the black that stretches across is all that makes up his world, like he's gazing up at twinkling stars in a scene of a movie.

There are no stars, though. The city is too bright.

He wonders what Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved is doing right now. He wonders if they're thinking of him, if they're looking at the same sky and wondering if he's looking at it too.

When he looks over, Minhyuk is already looking at him, slurping chocolate milk from a straw.

"Sunbae," Jooheon quietly calls, "do you think I'm likeable?"

"You're not my type, Lee Jooheon."

"That's not ― never mind."

Minhyuk crawls over to lie beside him, their shoulders touching when he props his head up with him on Jooheon's backpack. "Why did you ask that?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"It's nothing," Jooheon whines. He glances at Minhyuk, and then quickly tears his eyes away, pathetically huffing like a small child. "Do you think someone could really like me?"

"Why couldn't someone like you?"

Jooheon shrugs. "No one has ever liked me before," he whispers, this wave of embarrassment suddenly hitting him and rushing entirely to his face with an unbearable warmth. He feels so stupid babbling to Minhyuk about his life when he bullies him every single day, yet it feels too easy to speak, so easy that he doesn't bother stopping himself. "It sucks. Everyone else has someone they like around them. This freshman Changkyun hurt this guy's mouth with his braces, and even after that Kihyun still wants to kiss him. I can't even imagine what that's like."

"Kissing?" Minhyuk asks.

"Well, no, but I guess that too." Jooheon bites his lips. "I just want to know how it feels to be liked no matter what, you know? Well, you probably do know."

"What makes you think I know?"

"Look at you," is all the explaining Jooheon bothers coming up with. He quickly clamps his lips shut. There's no way he's giving any sort of compliment to Minhyuk. Even subtly. He'd never hear the last of it.

"I've never been kissed either, Lee Jooheon," Minhyuk tells him. "If that makes you feel better."

Somehow it does. 

 

 

 

 

. . . 

 

 

 

 

"You're pretty happy," Hoseok notes. He narrows his eyes like he's uneasy about him, trying to figure Jooheon out. It's almost as nerve-wrecking as being under the scrutiny of his dad.

"What?"

"Humming to yourself?" he prompts.

"Oh." Jooheon hadn't even realized it. He smiles, and then bites at it a little too harshly, obliviously stepping down from the ladder. "It's nothing. Just in the spirit, I guess."

He flicks the light switch on and the shop illuminates with the Christmas lights he finally got around to hanging up. Their tree is by the window now for everyone to see, white (because Hoseok insisted) and decorated with candy canes and colorful ornaments. They all have their own ornament, every employee. There's a red oval ornament Jooheon decorated on the floor of his hyungs' living room last Christmas. It's just a picture of him and his mom taped to it with the date written in a glitter glue pen. The glue pen work is an utter mess, all squiggly and shaky like it was done from the hands of a child, but it's still the prettiest because Jooheon made it. That's what Hoseok told him, at least.

"Just in the spirit?" Hoseok slowly repeats. "Sure, baby."

Jooheon just smiles and looks up at his light work. It's only until he's back at the counter munching on peperos does he notice that he's humming again.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

 _I like you a lot,_  his secret admirer writes.  _Even if you'll never feel the same way, just the thought of bringing a smile to your face with peperos makes me happier than anything. Work hard, Joohoney, and keep smiling~_

There's white pepero boxes today. Jooheon eats half a box in the break room, and he feels a little sad. He doesn't even know who this Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved is, yet they've already decided Jooheon doesn't have feelings for them.

Sure, he can't really develop feelings off some written words, but ― could he?

It feels wrong, somehow, liking someone from their words and their gifts of sweets, but Jooheon can already find his heart reaching out to this person. He likes the doodles Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved leaves on some of the notes. Sometimes there's stickers and sometimes there's only their words, but Jooheon always loves it. 

He loves the feeling of someone liking him. He loves the feeling of someone thinking about him and waking up early on the weekend just to leave him a note and pepero boxes to make his day. To make him feel loved.

Yet, he still has no idea who this person is.

The handwriting is still unfamiliar. The way they speak, the gifts they leave for him ― there's no trace of a clue on anything his secret admirer gives him.

It's not fair they get to decide whether Jooheon likes them or not without giving him a chance to know them himself. He wants to be able to look at this Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved and fall in love with the way their voice sounds and who they are,  _what_  they are. It's like being robbed of an experience. The first person to crush on him, and they're just a blank space in his head, a silhouette of someone he doesn't even know the age or gender of.

A sigh pushes from his lips. He wishes Someone Who Wants You To Feel Loved would just be brave. Jooheon wishes they could let him love them too.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow there's nothing terrifying about being on the roof.

Not that Jooheon really likes it, or likes spending the hours he could be sleeping to be with his annoying sunbae, but it's not awful. It might even be a small breath of fresh air. A  _very_  small breath of fresh air. But only whenever Minhyuk isn't talking, so the very small breath of fresh air is even smaller.

"Where are you going for break?" Minhyuk asks as they lay their snacks on the roof. It's like a system now. They both face each other with their legs crossed Indian-style, setting up their convenience store haul like they're dealing cards.

"I'm not hanging out with you during break."

"I didn't even want to hang out with you."

Jooheon claims a bag of chips and rips them open, shoving in his hand like he hasn't eaten for days. "I'm staying here."

"Good thing I'm not staying."

With a roll of his eyes, Jooheon shoves a handful of potato chips in his mouth.

"The first month of break I'm taking a family trip to Japan. You won't have anyone to eat snacks with for a while."

Which is perfectly fine by him. Jooheon looks in the opening of his chip bag, not bothering to utter a reply. He cares about this as much as he cares about the percentage of hydrogen in a bottle of water.

"I guess I should just return the Christmas gift I bought for you too then."

"Gift?" Jooheon questions, eyebrows shooting up.

Minhyuk cracks a smile. "Oh, so that's what gets your attention. Interesting."

"You got me a gift?"

"Did  _you_  get me a gift?" 

Coolly, Jooheon shrugs, closely scrutinizing the way his sunbae's lips spread into an obnoxious grin. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't."

"I want to see my gift."

"I didn't say you got a gift."

"But you just look untrustworthy, as if you got me a gift." Minhyuk impatiently groans, bouncing and slapping his hands on his knees. "Show me my gift, Lee Jooheon."

"It's stupid," Jooheon tells him, because it is, and even if he hasn't seen Minhyuk's gift―he hadn't even known Minhyuk would have went out of his way to get him a gift, which may or may not have to do with why Jooheon was so careless about his own―he's too shy to show him now.

What could Minhyuk possibly get him? Why would Minhyuk give him something at all?

"Here," Jooheon says. Sheepishly, he hands Minhyuk four boxes of peperos and looks away, interlacing his fingers.

Minhyuk looks at them. They're all different flavors, which Jooheon assumed Minhyuk would like, but it's not that he cares what Minhyuk would like anyway. He just has too many peperos, and he's gotten a little tired of eating them.

"Thank you," Minhyuk smiles. "Almond is my favorite."

"So?"

He only chuckles and rips open the original box. "Want me to show you how good I am at the pepero game?"

"No," Jooheon replies, "I want to see my gift."

"But I could just show you really quickly," Minhyuk promises, voice already on the verge of a whine. "Everyone says I'm king at it."

"Everyone?" Jooheon slowly repeats. "You just go around willingly kissing everyone?"

"You're not supposed to kiss, Lee Jooheon." He nonchalantly pulls out a chocolate pepero and hands it to him. "Here. Let me show you, and then I'll give you your gift."

Jooheon is hesitant about it, like he is with everything that is Minhyuk, but he finally slips the pepero in his mouth and holds it between his lips. Minhyuk hovers his hands over Jooheon's shoulders, and just that simple action has him squirming, eyes tightly shutting.

"Come on, don't move," Minhyuk tells him. He rests his hands on Jooheon's shoulders, and then looks into his eyes in a way that instantly sends the two of them bursting into laughs.

He's too close. When Minhyuk's hands are placed on Jooheon's shoulders again it's all that racks his mind. His eyes are really soft ― that's the other thought that finds its way in there too.

They're dark and pretty, watching Jooheon's mouth intently as his own finds its way on the other end of the pepero stick. And somehow, even with Minhyuk's mouth so disgustingly close to his, the only thing he can think of is his sunbae's eyes.

It's like the sky above this roof. They're just as dark, just as pretty. And Jooheon gets this appalling thought that maybe it's not the lights of the city that hide the stars in the sky, maybe these are where the stars have been this whole time.

There's a second the chocolate pepero is between their lips, and then there's a split second that Minhyuk pulls it from Jooheon's mouth and kisses him. 

His lips are as soft as his eyes. Jooheon wishes he knew how to kiss them.

He doesn't quite know what to do with his mouth, or his hands. They're just sort of awkward. Just there, wondering what their place is. All Jooheon knows is that their lips are together and he kind of ― 

well ―

He doesn't mind it. Not _entirely._

But he's still the first to pull away.

He's supposed to hate Minhyuk, right? He's a pain in the ass. The most annoying person he's ever met. 

"Why did you kiss me?" Jooheon whispers.

Hair hangs over his eyes when he drops his head, lips pursed, and it's almost as strange seeing Minhyuk like this as it is shocking. The obnoxious, overpowering sunbae crumbling into something insecure and weak. Jooheon doesn't like it. "That's your gift," he admits.

"Oh," Jooheon stupidly replies, "what made you think kissing me was a good idea?"

"I never thought it was a good idea." Minhyuk glances up at him when he chokes out a laugh, and then laughs himself, pushing a shaky hand at his hair. "Hiding my feelings is exhausting."

"What feelings?"

Minhyuk swallows, taking a pause before he says, "I like you, Joohoney."

There's a second Jooheon doesn't get it. But that name. That fucking stupid name that always brought a smile to his face, made him feel like something special in the pretty and precise English cursive of a marker pen.

It feels strange hearing it come from Minhyuk's mouth. It feels strange knowing it's  _Minhyuk,_  his annoying sunbae, the only person who can make his blood boil until there's none of it left, is the one behind each letter. Every single word. Every single pepero box.

"You're my secret admirer," Jooheon breathes, just because he wants to speak it into existence. Just because he wants Minhyuk to tell him that he's right.

His eyes are sullen like he's been caught with his hand in a cookie jar when he finally fixes his gaze on him. Slowly, Minhyuk nods.

"Then why are you so mean to me?" Jooheon asks.

"I'm not mean," Minhyuk studies his face, and then brushes his own fringe from his eyes, contemplating his words with a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "I kind of like it when I get on your nerves. Pushing your buttons is the only way you'll react to me."

"You're so stupid."

"I know," Minhyuk smiles, "but I just like it when you notice me. If you give me reactions, then I'll leave you alone. I promise."

"You don't have to leave me alone."

Minhyuk softly laughs. His eyes are bright again, curious. "No?"

"No." Jooheon grabs the box of peperos and pulls out another stick to place between his lips. "Round two?"

Minhyuk doesn't reply, just pulls the pepero from his lips again and tastes his mouth instead.

 

 

 

 

. . .

 

 

 

 

_To the cutest sunflower Min-hyung,_

_Here's a sunny flower for the sunniest boy I know._

_Maybe when winter is over I can grow a real sunflower in the shop. But_   _I hope you find this stuffed one just as pretty._

_Please cuddle her well when you miss me, and come back to Korea quickly so that you can just cuddle me._

_I miss you. Merry Christmas, hyung~_

_Love,_

_Joohoney_ _Who Will Be Waiting For More Pepero Kisses_


End file.
